Method of knitting pile fabrics



Nov. 28, 1961 J. H. HILL 3,010,297

METHOD OF KNITTING FILE FABRICS Filed March 30. 1959 INVENTOR.

A TTORIVEY United States Patent 3,010,297 METHOD OF KNITTING PILE FABRICS John H. Hill, Wayne, Pa., ascigrorfo Wildman Jacquard Co., Non-istown, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Mar. 30, 1959, Ser. No. 802,782 3 Claims. (Cl. 66-9) This invention relates to a method of knitting so-called high pile fabrics and, in particular, to a method of producing a pile fabric having pattern effects.

It is a general object of the invention to devise a method whereby a pile fabric may be produced wherein the pile has predetermined variegated effects which may differ as to color, material, texture or any other desired manner.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to produce a pile fabric wherein fibers having certain physical characteristics are fed to some of the knitting instrumentalities at one feeding station and fibers of differing physical characteristics are fed to others of the knitting instrumentalities at a second spaced feeding station to produce a high pile fabric wherein the base fabric is free from floats.

It is a further object of the invention to produce a pile fabric pile of which is formed of at least two types of fibers which differ from each other in certain respects, each of which is fed to selected areas of the fabric being knitted in a uniform manner.

Further objects will appear from the following more detailed description.

High pile fabrics are those in which a base fabric is supplemented by fibers incorporated in such manner that the fibers are drawn into tufts at each stitch to project to at least one side of the fabric. The pile thus formed is much longer than anything accomplished by way of combing, knapping, or by forming terry loops which may or may not be cut. Of course, the pile is usually sheared and treated by processes which enhance its appearance and by which it is made to resemble very closely several natural materia s.

According to the invention, fiber stock in the form of roving or sliver is fed to the knitting instrumentalities of a knitting machine by way of carding and doifer means at two or more feeding stations one of which may feed rovings which differ in color, material, texture, or in any other desired manner from the roving fed at a second feeding station. Pattern or other variegated effects may be produced, for example, by providing means which cause some of the knitting instrumentalities to take fibers from the dotfer means of one carding unit and others of the knitting instrumentalities to take fibers from the doffer means of a second carding unit, which latter fibers may differ in some respect from the first-mentioned fibers. Such selection of the knitting instrumentalities results in certain areas of the dofier means becoming overloaded with fibers from its carding unit and means have been provided for continually removing fibers from these overloaded areas and returning them to be reprocessed by the carding unit. In order to prevent the occurrence of floats at the back of the base fabric (pile side of the finished fabric), a novel method of knitting a patterned high pile fabric is used which comprises raising a first group of knitting instrumentalities to take fibers from a first feeding station, lowering that group to a tuck position without feeding any base yarn to the group at this time, raising a second group of knitting instrumentalities to take fibers from a second feeding station, and then feeding a base yarn to both of the groups at the second station and causing them to knit thereat. The size of each group of instrumentalities may vary as desired and selection is repeated until a complete course is'knitted and then this cycle is continued as long as desired.

The invention may be more fully understood by reference to the specification to follow and to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional viewof a knitting machine to which the invention has been applied;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representative on one mode of needle selectivity which may be used; and

FIGS. 3 and 4 are elevational views of trick wheels employed.

Now referring to FIG. 1, the invention is applied to a knitting machine having a needle cylinder 10, circular base 11, sinker head 12, needles 13 and sinkers 14. Cams in sinker cap 15 actuate the sinkers in known manner. Needle selection may be effected by means'of a conventional so-callecl trick wheel W or in any other desired manner to raise the needle butts sufiiciently so that they !will be acted upon by cams in cam section 16. For a description of the operation of a trick wheel, reference may be had to United States Patents 2,127,224 and 2,629,288.

On a base 17, attached to the circular base 11 or to any fixed part of the machine, is mounted a carding mech anism generally denoted 'by the arrow 18 for paralleling and delivering fibers to the hooks 19 of the needles and having among other parts a card cylinder 20, rotatable as shown in a clockwise direction, a licker-in cylinder 21, stripper roll 22 and worker roll 23. A second set of rolls is shown at 24 and 25 but the latter is moved away from the card cylinder so that it does not make contact therewith and does not function as a worked, but instead serves to transfer excess fibers back to stripper 24 in a manner to be described. Finally, a dotier cylinder 26 removes the fibers from the card and as the books of the needles enter the card clothing, they take a tuft of fibers therefrom. A number of air nozzles 27 and 28 assist by projecting air streams to cause the fibers to appear cleanly at a single face of the fabric. A supply of fibers of staple lengths or in any other suitable form are furnished as very loosely twisted rovings or sliver 29 and are advanced to the licker-in cylinder.

According to the invention, at least two of these carding units are used, each of which preferably feeds rovings having characteristics which differ from the rovings of the other. Thus, a similar carding unitwould be located at a spaced distance around the cylinder in FIG. 1 identical to that shown. If it were desired, for example, to produce a pile fabric of two difierent colors appearing as vertical stripes, each of the colors would be fed at one of the two carding units. Of course, as many of these pairs may be used as is desired. A trick wheel W at a first carding unit is set to select a predetermined needle pattern so that some of the needles, for example, alternate groups of fours, denoted A in FIG. 2, are caused to take fibers from the doffer cylinder 26' at that carding unit. After these selected needles have taken fibers, they are lowered by cams in a known manner to a tuck position, which may be anywhere between a fully raised position and a knitting position. A base yarn is not fed to these needles at this time. The non-selected groups of needles, denoted B in FIG. 2, are raised by a trick wheel W as they approach the second carding unit 18 to take fibers from the doffer cylinder 26. Then, all of the needles are fed a base yarn Y from a tube 30 at a point adjacent the second feeding station, and they are caused to knit in the usual manner. Accordingly, a course results at each second feeding station and undesirable floats are eliminated.

As a result of the limited needle selection at each doifer means, certain areas of the doffer are never cleared of fibers by the needles and the fibers would pile up excessively in these areas if no means were provided for the removal thereof. For this purpose a cleaner roll 31 has been provided adjacent the roll 25 and is driven by a chain 32 from a 20-tooth sprocket on stripper 27 to a -tooth sprocket on the cleaner roll so that the speed of the latter is approximately twice that of the stripper. Both of the rolls 25 and 31 preferably are equipped with straight doffer wire on their outer surfaces. In this manner the cleaner roll removes excess fibers from the doffer and transfers them to roll- 25 which in turn transfers them to stripper 24 for reprocessing.

, It is possible, by means of predetermined needle selection, to produce a fabric having horizontal stripes or a checkerboard pattern. Also, colors may be blended to gether to simulate naturally occurring furs.

The input of fibers to the carding unit should be balanced to the requirements of the pattern. Also, instead of feeding excess fibers back to the carding unit directly, they may be discharged and subsequently reprocessed in any desired way, for example, they may be reclaimed and incorporated into the stock from which rovings are made.

As described, one course is formed'at each pair of feeding stations on the knitting machine. However, it may be desired to produce a fabric of three different types of pile, for example, of three different colors, in which case groups of three carding units would be required with base yarn fed at every third feeding station to form a single course. Obviously, depending upon how many ditferent types of pile are to be used, the base yarn is fed to all the needles at that feeding station at which the last of the different fibers is to be fed.

While one embodiment and a modification of the invention have been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number of ways. This invention is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to embrace all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A method of knitting high pile fabric on a circular knitting machine having independent knitting instrumentalities and at least two spaced feeding stations which comprises raising a first group of said instrumentalities to take fibers from a first of said feeding stations, lowering that group to a tuck position, raising a second group of said instrumentalities to take fibers from a second of said feeding stations, and then feeding a base yarn to both said groups at said second station and causing them to knit thereat.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the fibers at said first fiber feeding means differ in certain characteristics from those at said second fiber feeding means.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the fibers at said first fiber feeding means differ in color from those at said second fiber feeding means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,114,414 Tauber Oct. 20, 1914 1,894,596 Moore Jan. 17, 1933 2,280,536 Moore Apr. 21, I942 

